PACT Act

The comedian and longtime veterans advocate did not hold back while lashing out at Senate Republicans during a news conference on Capitol Hill.

I'm used to the hypocrisy," Stewart continued. A subsequent tweet added, "We can easily fix this tonight, and there is no reason we cannot do so NOW. This simple fix would not reduce spending on veterans in the underlying bill by a single penny. "The Senate's where accountability goes to die. One of Stewart's particular focuses is "burn pits," which are areas devoted to open-air combustion of trash. "Let me say something beautiful. They don't have to hear it, they don't have to see it.

On Wednesday afternoon, a procedural vote to advance legislation aimed at helping millions of veterans exposed to toxins failed in the Senate.

"They don't have to hear it, they don't have to see it," he continued. “They have put politics before the life and well-being of service members,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, speaking of her colleagues in the Senate who voted ‘no’ on the legislation. As of now, it's not clear when the Senate vote will be rescheduled. “If this is America first then America is f******” "Ain't this a b****?" he asked the crowd. “They voted against the men and women who fight for this country.” "My concern about this bill has nothing to do with the purpose of the bill," Toomey said. “They voted for all of us to suffer. In response to the bill’s failure, Veteran and Advocate Ted Corcoran tweeted that "Advocates died fighting for this bill. On the floor, Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator Jon Tester D-Mont., accused Toomey of “having a problem” with supporting the country’s veterans. "They don't have to understand that these are human beings. In June, the bill passed the Senate 84-14.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (Kan.) – ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (SVAC) – today spoke on the Senate floor regarding ...

I am of the belief that if you serve in our military, we need to live up to the promises we made to take care of our veterans.” At the moment, the work before us, the work that needs to be accomplished today – now, this week – is the passage of the PACT Act so that our veterans who are encountering significant medical challenges have the care and benefits that come from being a veteran. “We need to continue the practice of taking care of our nation’s veterans in a way that is not partisan on either side of the issues,” said Sen. Moran. “This issue needs to pass the United States Senate in short order.

Former Talk show host turned veterans advocate, John Stewart joined a bicameral group of Democrats to call out Senate Republicans for failing to pass the ...

The VA would presume that veterans developed their illness as a result of exposure to toxic substances during their service. They expressed worry that the influx of cases would tax an already stressed VA system, leading to longer wait times for health care and processing disability claims. The bill also would provide new or increased disability benefits to thousands of veterans who have become ill with cancer or respiratory conditions such as bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

55-42 procedural vote on Wednesday fails to advance legislation addressing care, benefits for toxic-exposed veterans.

We have a chance right now to make a monumental change in the lives of our servicemen and women. · U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs chairman: “Frankly, this bill should have passed the House unanimously the first time, and it should have passed unanimously in the Senate. That is how fundamental this issue of taking care of our veterans is. We’ve got to have your friends in the military and veterans call, your civilian friends call. They have put their politics before the life and wellbeing of servicemembers who have given everything to this country. It’s a missed opportunity that’s hard to explain, but we will not stop until we get the job done.” The American Legion demands that Congress end this delay and allow our veterans to receive the health care they desperately need and have earned.” We all share the dismay in all of this. “The PACT Act passed the House and Senate in a bipartisan manner, yet this delay continues because of political games. Our veterans don’t have time for this bill to go back and forth again and again. “This bill’s genesis came from the fact that 70 percent of veterans with illnesses related to burn pits were being denied, and as a result couldn’t access health care. We will not stand by and allow veterans to be denied their duly owed health care. Speaking for The American Legion during a Thursday press event on Capitol Hill, American Legion Legislative Director Lawrence Montreuil called the delay “absolutely unacceptable.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday took to the U.S. Senate floor to slam Senate Republicans for blocking passage of the Honoring our ...

“That's the less charitable explanation, because that would be pretty horrific if Republicans were mad about a climate change bill and decided to take out their anger on veterans, on vulnerable veterans. That three weeks ago they thought it was a good bill, helping veterans was a good idea, and three weeks later they decided that it wasn't a good idea. “The less charitable explanation is this, Republicans are mad that Democrats are on the verge of passing climate change legislation and have decided to take out their anger on vulnerable veterans. Murphy continued: “The less charitable explanation is this, Republicans are mad that Democrats are on the verge of passing climate change legislation and have decided to take out their anger on vulnerable veterans. But 30 Republicans that thought helping veterans was a good idea just three weeks ago, all of a sudden have abandoned the cause.” That three weeks ago they thought it was a good bill, helping veterans was a good idea, and three weeks later they decided that it wasn't a good idea.

The Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act would provide health care to veterans impacted by burn pits.

This is an embarrassment to the Senate, to the country, to the founders and all that they profess to hold dear," Stewart said. Pits are used by the military overseas to burn waste material. RELATED STORY: Comedian, activist Jon Stewart joins lawmakers to support veterans exposed to burn pits

Download Production Quality Footage of Sen. Brown's Remarks HERE. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following Senate Republicans blocking the widely bipartisan Sergeant ...

Brown pushed the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee to hold a hearing to highlight the long-ignored or forgotten illnesses burn pit veterans suffer from, and the hurdles they face gaining access to VA benefits. My colleagues can make up all sorts of excuses as to why they decided to change their vote for this bill, but the bottom line is, veterans will suffer and die as a result on behalf of these excuses, and that’s why we’ve got to pass this bill.” Yesterday, our Republican colleagues chose to play politics with the lives and well-being of these brave men and women,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Just six weeks ago we collectively passed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act with overwhelming bipartisan support to give our veterans the health care and benefits they have earned. Now, 25 Republicans are holding our service members hostage for the sake of politics. Their gimmick will not work – we’re going to make good on our promise to veterans.” Yesterday, the cloture vote on the toxic exposure legislation failed by a vote of 55-42.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday about his effort to fix a flaw in the PACT Act. As currently written, ...

By failing to remove this gimmick, Congress would effectively be using an important veterans care bill to hide a massive, unrelated spending binge. However, it would enable an additional $400 billion in future discretionary spending completely unrelated to veterans. Senator Toomey’s technical fix does not reduce spending on veterans by even $1 or affect the expansion of care and benefits in the underlying bill.

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, House Veterans' Affairs ...

Democrats, at the same time yesterday, we were having our rollout of ‘People Over Politics.’ And when it comes to our veterans, we have always – it was always driven to vote, work in a bipartisan way. It has an immorality to it, that 80 percent of the Republicans would say no to our veterans – defying what we say: ‘On the battlefield, we leave no soldier behind. We think we owe that to them and try to find the most common bipartisan ground. But I'm very sad that 80 percent of the Republicans in the United States Senate said no to veterans yesterday. So I thank all of you, because inside maneuvering can just take us so far. It's very – it's hard to explain. Speaker Pelosi. Senator Brown. And thank you, thank you so much. Speaker Pelosi. Thank you, Raul Ruiz, for your very passionate and very well-informed comments about how we have to meet the needs of our veterans. Senator Tester’s leadership was so important, and I'm so pleased that both he and the Ranking Member Moran voted for the legislation. The other day, within this past week, we had a meeting of our Veterans Service Organizations. We were talking about what comes next. Three and a half million veterans will benefit – have the possibility of benefiting from this legislation. Chairman of our Veterans’ Committee. He was so responsible for the legislation.

The Republican senators blocked the passage of the PACT Act on Thursday, leaving the veterans furious and outraged.

He added that the veterans would not accept the blockage and would continue to press on the subject. Many veterans have termed the blockage as angering and frustrating. However, as a shocker to everyone, 41 Republican senators blocked the bill, including the 25 senators, who had earlier supported it.

GOP Senator Pat Toomey's office said the PACT Act "would enable $400 billion over the next 10 years in spending completely unrelated to veterans."

And what we're hoping for is there will be a negotiation to eliminate some of the mandatory spending in the bill and then the bill can pass. By failing to remove this gimmick, Congress would effectively be using an important veterans care bill to hide a massive, unrelated spending binge." A release from GOP Senator Pat Toomey's office on Tuesday said that the PACT Act "would enable $400 billion over the next 10 years in spending completely unrelated to veterans."

Only one of the Republican congressmen from our region voted in support of the bill in the House.

My office works regularly with veterans to provide them with the health care benefits they deserve,” Good said. “I think veterans who have been exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances, like Agent Orange, in the line of duty deserve benefits, Griffith said. As inflation has now hit a whopping 9.1%, Congress must do better to both provide care for our veterans and maintain fiscal sanity on behalf of every hardworking taxpayer.” I’ve supported and voted in favor of other bills that would aid veterans exposed to burn pits and expand Agent Orange benefits without these major flaws.” “We cannot send our servicemembers to fight our wars and neglect them when they come home.” “Standing for those who stood for us has been one of my priorities in Congress, and I am disappointed in the Senate for not supporting Veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Cline said.

A bill that would expand healthcare access for millions of veterans and allow families exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune to sue the government has ...

“I know a lot of them up in that area that are still in the Jacksonville area, and around the country felt like finally they were gonna get some relief from this. Both Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, however, have voted against the legislation. Next to nothing.” Since the Senate passed the bill with a bipartisan 84-14 vote last month, many expected it to pass again since only minor changes had been made. “In the meantime, every minute of delay is a minute that a veteran who fought for this country and their families and their caregivers suffer and die,” said Stewart. “We’ve lost people through this fight.” What have they gotten from it?

Only one of the Republican congressmen from our region voted in support of the bill in the House.

My office works regularly with veterans to provide them with the health care benefits they deserve,” Good said. “I think veterans who have been exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances, like Agent Orange, in the line of duty deserve benefits, Griffith said. As inflation has now hit a whopping 9.1%, Congress must do better to both provide care for our veterans and maintain fiscal sanity on behalf of every hardworking taxpayer.” I’ve supported and voted in favor of other bills that would aid veterans exposed to burn pits and expand Agent Orange benefits without these major flaws.” “We cannot send our servicemembers to fight our wars and neglect them when they come home.” “Standing for those who stood for us has been one of my priorities in Congress, and I am disappointed in the Senate for not supporting Veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Cline said.